Step 5 Preview is $4 cheaper per 1M input tokens (80% lower; 5x difference).
API cost decision in 10 seconds
New🔥Step 5 Preview vs Claude Opus 5
Pick Step 5 Preview when budget is the priority.
Page updated:
Data confirmed:
Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens
Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output
Budget verdict
Pick Step 5 Preview when budget is the priority.
On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Step 5 Preview is estimated at $2.35 vs $17.5 for Claude Opus 5, saving $15.15 (86.6% lower).
Cost-first pickStep 5 Preview
Context-first pickBoth models
Sample savings$15.1586.6%
10x traffic gap$151.5
The reported context window is tied, so cost and provider fit carry more weight. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $151.5. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.
Cost sensitivity
Workload Sensitivity
Step 5 Preview stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.
| Workload shape | Token mix | Better pick | Step 5 Preview | Claude Opus 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Input-heavy / RAG | 5M input + 500K output | Step 5 Preview | $6.35 | $37.5 |
| Balanced workload | 1M input + 1M output | Step 5 Preview | $3.7 | $30 |
| Output-heavy chatbot | 1M input + 5M output | Step 5 Preview | $14.5 | $130 |
Step 5 Preview is $22.3 cheaper per 1M output tokens (89.2% lower; 9.26x difference).
Both models report the same context window at 1M tokens.
Step 5 Preview is $15.15 cheaper on the standard workload (86.6% lower).
Estimate your workload cost
Your Workload Cost
This estimate uses normalized public API pricing per 1M tokens. It is a planning aid, not a billing quote. Verify provider pricing, limits, and terms before production use.
Quick Decision
Step 5 Preview has the lower input price; Step 5 Preview has the lower output price; both models report the same context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Step 5 Preview is cheaper for the standard workload.
For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $2.35 for Step 5 Preview and $17.5 for Claude Opus 5.
Choose Step 5 Preview when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.
Choose Claude Opus 5 when its provider, model quality, latency, or availability is more important than the numeric price/context winner.
- On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Step 5 Preview is estimated at $2.35 vs $17.5 for Claude Opus 5, saving $15.15 (86.6% lower).
- Step 5 Preview is $15.15 cheaper on the standard workload (86.6% lower).
- Step 5 Preview is $4 cheaper per 1M input tokens (80% lower; 5x difference).
- Step 5 Preview is $22.3 cheaper per 1M output tokens (89.2% lower; 9.26x difference).
- Both models report the same context window at 1M tokens.
| Feature | New🔥Step 5 Preview (StepFun) | Claude Opus 5 (Anthropic) |
|---|---|---|
| Input Price prompt tokens per 1M | $1 | $5 |
| Completion Price per 1M tokens | $2.7 | $25 |
| Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output | $2.35 | $17.5 |
| Context Window | 1M | 1M |
| Release Date | ||
| Popularity | #2 |
Use-Case Decision Matrix
| Use case | Better pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Budget-constrained production | Step 5 Preview | On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Step 5 Preview is estimated at $2.35 vs $17.5 for Claude Opus 5, saving $15.15 (86.6% lower). |
| High-volume input processing | Step 5 Preview | Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill. |
| Long responses and chatbots | Step 5 Preview | Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens. |
| RAG or long-document work | Tie | A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files. |
Related Alternatives
- Step 3.5 Flash can replace Step 5 Preview when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.25.
- Step 3.7 Flash can replace Step 5 Preview when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.77.
- Claude Haiku 5.5 (batch) can replace Claude Opus 5 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.17.
- Claude Haiku 5.5 can replace Claude Opus 5 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.35.
- Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent offers 2M context with $2.5 sample workload cost.
- Grok 4.20 offers 2M context with $2.5 sample workload cost.
- Llama 4 Scout offers 1.31M context with $0.47 sample workload cost.
- MiMo-V2.6-Flash offers 1.05M context with $0.28 sample workload cost.
- DeepSeek V4.1 Flash · DeepSeek · #1
- GLM 5.3 Flash · Z.ai · #3
- MiMo-V2.6-Flash · Xiaomi · #4
- Hy4 preview · Tencent · #5
Cheaper alternatives
Review low-cost models sorted by a standard 1M input plus 500K output workload.
Open cheapest modelsLarger context alternatives
Find models with larger context windows for RAG, long documents, and codebase review.
Open largest context modelsProvider catalogs
Compare models within provider hubs before choosing a final API vendor.
Open provider hubsStepFun catalog
Review all tracked StepFun models before deciding whether this matchup is the right shortlist.
Open StepFun modelsAnthropic catalog
Check other Anthropic models with comparable pricing, context, or release timing.
Open Anthropic modelsStep 5 Preview is StepFun's flagship model for agentic work, built on a sparse Mixture-of-Experts architecture (27B active / 600B total parameters). It performs strongly in software engineering and professional...
Claude Opus 5 is Anthropic’s flagship model for demanding reasoning, coding, and long-horizon agentic work. It is particularly strong at end-to-end software tasks, code review and bug finding, visual analysis...